Angels Not Distracted by Anthony Rendon Incident, Explode For 11-Run Inning
Well the Angels certainly don't seem to be impacted by the Anthony Rendon fan altercation.
Rendon's post-opening day incident has continued to be a major, developing story across MLB over the past few days.
Saturday, new video emerged showing an alternate angle and some additional context. Neither of which made Rendon's behavior look any better.
READ: ANTHONY RENDON FAN ALTERCATION: NEW VIDEO EMERGES; ANGELS PLAYERS REPORTEDLY MEET ABOUT INCIDENT
Despite his repeated "no comment" answers when asked about it, and an ongoing league investigation, Rendon was penciled in to the lineup against the Oakland A's.
Unsurprisingly, he received a substantial fan reaction from the locals when coming up to the plate in the 2nd inning.
None of that seemed to be much of a distraction for the Angels, however.
After a quiet start to the game, they absolutely exploded in the top of the third inning.
Against new offseason A's acquisition Shintaro Fujinami, the Angels went walk, single, double, single, walk, single, Rendon sac fly, walk, single, pitching change, walk, single, sac fly, and finally a two run home run.
Oof.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Los Angeles Angels hits a sacrifice fly that scored a run against the Oakland Athletics in the third inning at RingCentral Coliseum on April 01, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Angels Offense Shows Up
The explosion in the third inning actually brings up another subplot of Rendon's bizarre fan altercation.
It's one thing to be upset after a close, hard fought loss say, late in a frustrating season. But it was opening day.
Rendon knows as well as anyone that baseball changes each game, and that difficult losses can quickly turn into exhilarating wins.
Giving into a heckler after the first game of the season seems even more absurd considering his team just dropped 11 runs in an inning.
The Angels and their fans will be forced to wait for the results of MLB's investigation, but in the mean time, it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting the team's focus.